New York Gov. Kathy Hochul and other officials announced completion of major solar projects at five upstate correctional facilities. The projects total more than 30 megawatts (MW) and directly support New York’s Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act, which calls for 70% of New York’s electricity to be sourced from renewable energy by 2030.
The New York Power Authority (NYPA) and the Department of Corrections and Community Supervision (DOCCS) worked together to install more than 75,000 solar panels—enough to power 7,000 homes—at the DOCCS facilities.
“Achieving New York’s ambitious climate and clean energy goals requires historic investments in renewable energy,” said Hochul. “By installing more than 75,000 solar panels at DOCCS facilities, New York continues to lead by example, paving the way for a brighter, greener future for all.”
The five solar energy arrays—located at Wende, Mid-State, Greene, Eastern, and Green Haven state correctional facilities—are expected to save the state more than $10 million in energy costs throughout the course of their lifetimes. The photovoltaic energy systems at Wende, Greene, and Eastern correctional facilities will each generate 6.9 MW of distributed solar while the remaining two sites will each generate 4.9 MW. In total, the projects will reduce carbon emissions by nearly 4,500 tons—the equivalent of removing 880 cars from the road.
The solar projects also received more than $5.2 million from the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority through NY-Sun, the state’s $3.3 billion initiative to advance the scale-up of solar while making solar energy more accessible to homes, businesses, and communities. Since NY-Sun’s inception, solar in the state has grown more than 3,000%, leveraged nearly $7.3 billion in private investments, and decreased in cost by 73%.
Other Energy-Saving Projects
In addition to these five recently completed solar installations, NYPA is currently constructing 33 energy efficiency projects at DOCCS facilities. Totaling $124 million, the projects will reduce GHG emissions by 27,600 metric tons—the equivalent of removing nearly 6,000 cars from the road. NYPA and DOCCS also are actively developing $230 million in energy efficiency improvement measures that will reduce GHG emissions by an additional 22,500 metric tons.
In the past 10 years, NYPA has partnered with DOCCS to implement 46 energy efficiency projects at 30 different facilities, saving more than $4 million in annual energy and maintenance costs and reducing GHG emissions by nearly 17,000 metric tons.